'Net Features : local seo

Local Thursday: Local SEO Keyword Density

Pete Prestipino — Thu, 22 May 2008 15:38:00 GMT

Effective local Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is comprised of many different factors but the keywords and phrases you choose are the biggest considerations of all. Once your keyword research has helped you determine which keywords and phrases will help you rank well, the next thing to think about may be how often to use them in your site’s content. Read more on Local SEO Keyword Density.

Keyword Research - A Foundation for Local SEO

Pete Prestipino — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 15:11:00 GMT

Whether you’re new to local Search Engine Optimization (SEO) or have added some localized SEO pages to your site, finding the right keywords to optimize will determine whether they help drive targeted traffic to your site effectively or not. For most any Internet marketing strategy, keyword research is the foundation for success! These tips will help you find the perfect keywords to help your business achieve results with local SEO....(read more)

Connect with Local Customers by Creating a Blog

Pete Prestipino — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 14:33:00 GMT

Want your site to rank better with local Search Engine Optimization (SEO)? Adding a blog to your site makes smart business sense for a variety of reasons! Simply put, search engines tend to rank business websites with blogs higher than those that don’t have them and they’re an excellent way to connect with people in your area!

Although you may be thinking that everyone has a blog and you don’t have the time to deal with updating one, once they’re set up and running, they really don’t take much time at all and the benefits are simply too great to ignore.

But Why are Blogs So Effective?
The short answer is: Search engines love the fresh content that blogs provide and tend to reward sites with consistently fresh content with higher rankings. They also create great inbound and outbound linking opportunities which search engines also use to determine page rank.

Readers love them too as it gives them an opportunity to ask you questions, get answers, and interact with businesses in a whole new way. Further, blog owners also love them because the reader feedback gives them invaluable information on how their business is perceived by their clients. It’s a win-win-win situation all the way around!

What would I Write About in My Blog?
You can write about anything you choose but the best blog posts talk about topics that are relevant to your industry AND your readers. If you own an auto repair shop, you could write about seasonal things like winterizing your car or making sure your antifreeze is ready for summer travel.

You could also write about maintenance checklists, how to increase fuel mileage, what to look for in an auto mechanic, the advantages of using synthetic oil in your next oil change, etc. You can also include blog-only promotions, contests, and coupons so your readers have extra incentive to read and become active participants in your business blog.

What if I don’t Have the Time?
If you don’t want to write your own blog entries for any reason, you can choose to outsource the writing to a freelance writer who knows how to add extra optimization to the posts or hire an Internet marketing company like Brick Marketing to run it all for you. No matter what path you choose, simply adding a blog to your site will positively impact your bottom line in no time at all and, who knows, you might even discover that it’s fun too!

About the Author: Nick Stamoulis
Nick Stamoulis is the President of Brick Marketing and Website Magazine's “Local Thursdays” weekly contributor.

Local Thursday: An Essential Element For Local Websites

Administrator — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 14:50:00 GMT

The One Element Every Local Small Business Should Have On Its Website

If you are serious about local online advertising for your business then you must optimize your website for local search engine optimization. There is really just one clear and effective way to do that: You must ensure that every page of your website has your business address on it.

You’ve optimized your website real well for your important keywords, but you’re not getting local traffic. Now what? Go in and add your business address to every page of your website TWICE. Put it once in the footer and once somewhere in the copy of the web page itself - preferably near the top of the page.

I always recommend putting the business address of every local business that wants to attract local clientele to their website to add a business address in the top right corner of the web page so that it is visible and easy to find. You also want to include your phone number and cell phone if you can. Then, you want to add the same information to the bottom of the page, in the footer.

The reason you want your address on your web pages twice is because that will clue the search engines in to the fact that your geography is important. If they see the same information twice then they will put more importance on that information. Another way to add importance to the address is to bold it. You can even link it to your Google Map or, better yet, embed Google Maps into your website so that local customers can find you easily and you’ll get that added local search engine optimization benefit.

About the Author: Nick Stamoulis is the President of Brick Marketing who is the “Local Thursdays” weekly contributor.

Serving Video In Google's Local Business Center

Administrator — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 15:56:00 GMT

Google announced at SES this week that Maps will now support the option of adding videos to existing business records in the Local Business Center.

This could be a great opportunity to feature customer testimonials, product demonstrations or even a personal invitation from the owner! Similar to the process of adding photos, businesses are allowed to display up to five videos in their Maps record and pull videos directly from YouTube. The best part? These videos show up directly within the listing, and by some reports, as early as an hours after posting.

The addition of video into Google Maps listings follows an announcement from March 8th, which introduced the addition of photo uploads, custom attributes, the ability to adjust the Google map marker location and statistics (the number of people that viewed and clicked a listing).